I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start.

[enquirer]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

... if someone is in hardship and can't afford to meet the normal payment ...

The question has to be asked ... if you are in hardship, why do you have a television?

[wales01man]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

bit below the belt Enquirer if some one is in hardship theres areason maybe you have never faced these problems many have

[Mysrerio]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

The question has to be asked ... if you are in hardship, why do you have a television?

The thing to remember about hardship, financial difficulties is that it's not necessarily a constant fixture, it's often a thing of a given period of time in someones life, so for example, someone might have been doing really well financially 2 or 3 years ago but now they maybe struggling, perhaps and hopefully in say a few years time they might be back to that position they were in but for the moment they are in hardship, it's the reality of the moment that they have to work with not 2 years ago, they may have bought the TV when times were better, they may have bought many other things too when things were better but those things will no longer be a reflection of their present financial status, they will only be echoes of what was, of better days, besides, you hardly have to be wealthy to have a TV, there's all sizes and prices, problem is they will be expected to pay exactly the same license fee, eg, someone whom can afford and owns a color TV that costs £2,000 only has to pay the same fee as someone who can only barely afford a £100 color set, does that seem fair??:confused2:

[labman]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

Of course and the absurd thing about it is that obviously if someone is in hardship and can't afford to meet the normal payment which in most cases will be the reason, then it's completely and utterly pointless to then charge them a fine that is ten times as high, they'll just get into even deeper financial difficulties than they're already in, makes about as much sense as burning and executing witches did in the 17th Century, the same illogical, savage and brutal mentality of "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" is alive and well in the UK, just applied in a different and modern format that's all.

There's just been a high profile judicial review about this issue. The court system was described by the judge as "unfit for purpose" as the database for fines are actually four separate regional databases, and none has access to other regions. There is thus no way of determining how much a person owes in fines due to there being no national database.

It was adjudged some time ago that a fine should be proportionate, and this was defined as being able to be paid at maximum within three years.

In reality it means courts will have to get an accurate means testing in future, otherwise they cannot impose proportionate fines. It means default judgments are going to be hit, as they shouldn't impose a fine without the means enquiry form. Equally, where people cannot afford any more money from benefits, AOE's etc... then other measures are going to have to be considered.

One can't escape the fact though, that if you haven't got a licence - not being able to afford it, is not an excuse for continuing to watch television.

[enquirer]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

... problem is they will be expected to pay exactly the same license fee, eg, someone whom can afford and owns a color TV that costs £2,000 only has to pay the same fee as someone who can only barely afford a £100 color set, does that seem fair??

Yes.

It should be remembered that a television is a luxury item.

[PlanB]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

problem is they will be expected to pay exactly the same license fee, eg, someone whom can afford and owns a color TV that costs £2,000 only has to pay the same fee as someone who can only barely afford a £100 color set, does that seem fair??:confused2:

Yes and No because someone who drives a Ferrari costing £250k pays the same for a Driving Licence as someone who drives a 15 year old car like mine worth £500

[labman]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

Yes.

It should be remembered that a television is a luxury item.

Really? I wouldn't have thought so nowadays.

[labman]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

you hardly have to be wealthy to have a TV, there's all sizes and prices, problem is they will be expected to pay exactly the same license fee, eg, someone whom can afford and owns a color TV that costs £2,000 only has to pay the same fee as someone who can only barely afford a £100 color set, does that seem fair??:confused2:

It seems totally fair to me. The licence enables you to watch or record TV programmes as they're being shown. It matters not one jot whether they're being watched on a free set given to you or one you paid £2000 for - you're watching the programme.

[Mysrerio]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

Yes.

It should be remembered that a television is a luxury item.

A TV that costs a few grand is certainly a luxury item but one that almost even the poorest person can afford is hardly a luxury item even in the broadest sense anymore, perhaps 3 or 4 decades ago but not even then really, there were cheap telly's even back then and also rentals, at best I would describe TV as a nonessential item, eg, nobody will suffer for not having a TV.

[labman]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

We paid £1400 for our TV several years ago - the same set nowadays is around £500. :beagle::beagle:

[Mysrerio]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

We paid £1400 for our TV several years ago - the same set nowadays is around £500. :beagle::beagle:

Yep, I know the feeling, the problem nowadays is that the technology is moving insanely rapid so a set a few years ago that might have been right on the cutting edge will have been relegated to just standard by now with the latest, just like mobile phones really, when a new one comes out people pay an extortionate amount for the privilege of being amongst the first to try the model but a few years down the line and they're way down in price where upon you kick yourself for not waiting!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

The question has to be asked ... if you are in hardship, why do you have a television?

Uhmmm what sort of question is this? You could have bought the telly when you had a job, a business or a partner who helped you out. All of a sudden you lose your job, fall ill, your business is not doing well or your partner leaves you! Despite all this, your TV still works, they can last a long time, I bought mine on the day of the London bombings (07/07/2005!). :grin:

These days TVs can be very cheap. The whole TV licensing model is a hangover from the old days of state controlled services and utilities and has no place in modern Britain! At the time they came up with the idea, the BBC was the only TV network broadcasting in the UK, the trains belonged to British Rail, etc. Things have changed A LOT since then: everything has been privatised and there are lots of channels to watch, both free and subscription based. All the non BBC channels show adverts, along with virtually every TV channel in the world. There's absolutely no reason why the BBC couldn't adopt the same commercial model and show adverts instead of forcing the entire UK population to support their overpaid bosses and aspiring celebrities. :rant: :rant: :rant:

It would be fair enough to have TV licensing if this was a socialist country but not when the UK is basically a suburb of Manhattan where the Big Bad Banks rule! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

[enquirer]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

Uhmmm what sort of question is this?

If you are really hard up, why are you wasting electricity on a television? Why are you wasting food money on a licence? Why are you not realising your assets by selling the thing?

It would be fair enough to have TV licensing if this was a socialist country but not when the UK is basically a suburb of Manhattan where the Big Bad Banks rule!

Compare LibLabCon real world performance and you will find that in the final analysis they are all working toward the same objective.

The political spectrum is not as they would have us believe - a straight line with 'Left' at one end and 'Right' at the other. It is actually a circle, with 'anarchy' at one side, and 'totalitarianism' at the other. Left wing and Right wing totalitarianism sit next to each other.

Fascism is the corporate state, and Communism, state corporatism.

[Eloise01]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

Uhmmm what sort of question is this? You could have bought the telly when you had a job, a business or a partner who helped you out. All of a sudden you lose your job, fall ill, your business is not doing well or your partner leaves you! Despite all this, your TV still works, they can last a long time, I bought mine on the day of the London bombings (07/07/2005!). :grin:

These days TVs can be very cheap. The whole TV licensing model is a hangover from the old days of state controlled services and utilities and has no place in modern Britain! At the time they came up with the idea, the BBC was the only TV network broadcasting in the UK, the trains belonged to British Rail, etc. Things have changed A LOT since then: everything has been privatised and there are lots of channels to watch, both free and subscription based. All the non BBC channels show adverts, along with virtually every TV channel in the world. There's absolutely no reason why the BBC couldn't adopt the same commercial model and show adverts instead of forcing the entire UK population to support their overpaid bosses and aspiring celebrities. :rant: :rant: :rant:

It would be fair enough to have TV licensing if this was a socialist country but not when the UK is basically a suburb of Manhattan where the Big Bad Banks rule! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

I sort of agree with you in principle. But this isn't about whether there should be a TV licence. There is one. Like other things, TVs come with rules and "running costs". You have to have a licence, just like you have to have road tax on your car if you want to use your car. I do appreciate that at times people may experience hardship and simply can't afford these things. But as my parents taught me, if you can't afford it you can't have it. Maybe that's an old fashioned view, but I think it's as valid today as it ever was. It currently happens to be the case that if you own equipment capable of receiving television signals then you must pay for a licence as well. If you choose not to pay for that licence, whatever the very good reason, there will be consequences if you are caught. And until the law changes, that is quite right - otherwise, should we all dispense with paying for things if we don't agree that we should?

I do happen to agree that there is little valid argument for the TV license, and it's an anachronism that should go. But until it does I shall have to continue to pay it, and so will others. That is just a fact of life. There is no opt out because you can't afford it.

[gravytrain]

Re: I want to take tv licensing to court compensation and I don't know where to start

We paid £1400 for our TV several years ago - the same set nowadays is around £500. :beagle::beagle:

I used to work in the TV retail industry in 1977 when the first color transistor tv came on the market, it was about £600, virtually the same as a decent set now. In those days a pint of beer was under 40p and a litre of petrol was about 18p, it is why many of us got out of the industry. Sorry well off topic